Cyprus; The Property Buying Process

Feb 02. 2018

Cyprus continues to draw British expats year on year to its island. When it comes to buying property there, the legal process is essentially based on English law. There are, of course, a few things to be careful with. Here’s our overview of the house buying process in Cyprus:

• Once you’ve fund your property, you will most likely need to pay a reservation deposit to remove it from the market. This is usually about 1% of the sale price.
• Exert due diligence if you’re purchasing a property from the plans or if it is incomplete. Always appoint an independent lawyer as they must investigate the financial standing of the developer and be confident that they won’t become financially unsound during your dealings with them.
• For the purchasing of new properties; its essential that planning permission and building authority licenses have been fully complied with. Any problems with non-compliance could store up problems for in the future.
• When purchasing any property in Cyprus take heed that it is important to run a legal check over any debts on the land. There have been unfortunate cases of buyers not being aware of the developer taking out a mortgage on the land and leaving it unpaid. The purchaser has then not legally owned the land on which their property is standing.
• In the final stages, the lawyers will create the contract of sale and at that point another deposit is due for payment. Ordinarily this stands at 10% on a resale property and 20-30% if it’s a new build.
• This legal document is then filed with the land registry within 60 days. References from the bank and character references need to be presented by the buyer to accompany the application. It then just remains for the balance of money to be paid on the property (for new-builds this may be in instalments.)
• For any advice on the legal process of buying a property in Cyprus, always contact a legal professional. For advice on the removals process to Cyprus; our International Department would be pleased to speak to you. They can be contacted on 01902 714555 or at sales@burkebros.co.uk.